The Rise of The Chosen One
by Smooth-Criminal-94
Summary: The road to becoming a pokémon trainer can be a difficult one. Ash Ketchum knows this better than anyone. Watch as Ash starts his journey with both knowledge and experience, to rise up and take the pokémon world by storm. With his two starting pokémon by his side, nothing will stand in his way to achieve his goal. (Features an Ash who is Intelligent/Calm/Independent/and Awesome)
1. Prologue

**_DISCLAIMER:_ I'll say this now so that I don't have to repeat it every chapter. I do not own Pokémon in anyway what so ever. If I did, I would be awesome!**

**Like most people who love Pokémon, I myself have now officially given up with watching the anime. I think it's become clear that Ash is never going to win anything of importance again. (Last one being the Kanto Battle Frontier and even that was after several attempts.) He will never age. (Guys been on his journey for over six years and is still ten years old...odd.) He will never grow. (I mean apart from Max, practically EVERYONE is taller than him.) He will continue to suffer memory loss every time he enters a new region. (I mean come on now it's just getting ridiculous, that battle against that arse-wipe Trip made me want to throw my T.V out of the window.) Pikachu will continue to lose all his power EVERY-TIME they enter a new region. (That little mouse should be able to make Zekrom his bitch by now.) Team Rocket will never actually be caught and put in jail. (Don't even get me started on those arsehole's.) And last but not least, his team will continue to get more and more pathetic as time goes on. (There is only one word I can use to describe his Unova team, and that is WANK.)**

**I'll also say this now as well, if you don't like my story then DON'T READ. I appreciate constructive criticism and ideas from anyone. The more ideas you guys have the better, it can help get my brain into gear in certain cases and I am always looking to improve upon my writing. **

**But people who are just going to insult me can take their opinions and stick them where the sun don't shine!**

**Now that I have my little bitch fit out of the way. Let's get back to the story shall we! :)**

******_AN:_ Hello to all Pokémon fanfic readers. This is a new 'project' that has been in my head for weeks and I just needed to get it out my head and written down.**

**_STORY SUMMARY:_ This is another of the 'What if?' scenarios. In this story, Ash is far more intelligent than he is in the anime. In fact I'm actually trying to make him out more like the all powerful and badass Pokemon Master we know and love, Red! (In this story, RED DOES NOT EXIST! there will be very little references to the manga, if any at all, seeing as my knowledge on the manga is squat.) There will be some references to the game, but it will mostly be the anime. The plot will follow canon, non-canon and AU.**

**_WARNINGS:_ This story is rated M due to explicit language - (On occasion.) Violence - (Not at a revolting gore level, but still in the region of maturer readers.) and Sexual Content...You have been warned!**

**_CHARACTER DESCRIPTION: A_s many of you can probably guess this will feature an Ash who is Intelligent/Calm/Independent/AND AWESOME!**

**_ONE LAST THING: TRAINER STARTING AGE IS BUMPED UP TO 13._ (I mean really, what sane person sends a 10 YEAR OLD into the wilderness...utter madness.)**

******Anyway please read and let me know what you think!**

* * *

_**The Rise of The Chosen One**_

_**Prologue:**_

Pallet Town of the Kanto region. To most people the town of Pallet looks like any ordinary town based in the country side that doesn't really hold anything of importance, and upon appearance, most of them would be correct. But Pallet Town is something different, this town holds something unique.

For those of you who don't know, Pallet Town is one of the many starting places for people who choose to take the journey of becoming a pokémon trainer in the Kanto region. It is also home to the world renowned Pokémon Professor and Poet, Professor Samuel Oak.

However, this isn't what makes Pallet Town unique, what makes Pallet Town different from any ordinary town, is that it is also home to one particular young man by the name of Ash Ketchum. Just like many other people around the world, Ash is planning on taking the journey to become a Pokémon Trainer when he becomes of age. But, what makes Ash special is that he will not just become any ordinary pokémon trainer. No, this young man will become the most powerful Pokémon Master...to ever live.

* * *

The rays of the full white moon, bathed the small and peaceful town of Pallet. Situated in the beautiful farmlands within the southwest corner of the Kanto region, Pallet Town was only known by the outside world due to it being home to the renowned Pokémon Professor, Samuel Oak.

Despite the normal peace and tranquility, there was much excitement to be found within the air of Pallet Town at the moment.

Tomorrow was the day that the next generation of aspiring young Pokémon Trainers within Pallet Town would be receiving their Pokémon License and their very first pokémon from Professor Oak, in order to start their own pokémon journeys.

One of those aspiring young people was none other than recently turned thirteen year old, Ash Ketchum.

Ash was a little above average height for his age, standing at around 5'6" tall. He had light tanned skin, messy black hair and deep brown eyes that had a unique dark red tint to them.

Ash was currently sat cross legged on his bed, his head resting on his clasped hands with his eyes solely focused on the battle currently taking place on the TV...

_The first semi-final match of the Indigo Plateau Conference Pokémon League was currently underway. Thousands of people from all over the Kanto region and beyond have shown up to attend at the Indigo Plateau, as they now watch some of this year's top Pokémon Trainers battle it out for the chance to be crowned this year's League Champion._

_Currently, two pokémon trainers were in the middle of a heated battle against one another on the field._

_"Gengar, dodge and use Hypnosis!" Sarah Fanner, a 20 year old female trainer shouted to her pokémon._

_A purple shadow like pokémon, Gengar, nodded and jumped into the air to dodge the incoming Horn Attack. It quickly followed up the dodge with its Hypnosis attack, by putting its hands together to gather energy and letting loose a pulse of small black rings that expanded larger as they headed towards the target._

_"No Nidorino, get out of the way!" Thomas Michaels, a 22 year old male trainer frantically shouted to his pokémon._

_Unfortunately, the poison pin-headed pokémon, Nidorino, wasn't quick enough and unable to dodge the attack. The Hypnosis rings hit Nidorino in the face, quickly causing the pokémon to become sluggish and drowsy. Unable to stay awake against the barrage, Nidorino slumped to the ground asleep._

_"Now Gengar, finish it with Shadow Ball!" Sarah shouted in triumph._

_Once again Gengar put it hands together to gather energy, only this time it released a dark pulsing ball of black energy that shot towards the sleeping form of Nidorino, hitting it with a fair amount of force and knocking it out._

_"Nidorino is unable to battle, Gengar is the winner of this round!" the battle referee called out._

_The moment the announcement was made, an uproar of cheering from the audience erupted, one that was easily loud enough to deafen anyone that stood on the battlefield._

"That Nidorino never stood a chance against Gengar." Ash quietly observed to himself.

He was brought out of his quick observation by a knock on his bedroom door. Ash turned to the door as it opened to reveal his mother, Delia Ketchum. His mother was a very beautiful woman, still the same as she had been in her teenage years. Her long brunette hair reaching part-way down her back and her light hazel coloured eyes stared at Ash with both warmth and slight concern.

"Everything okay honey?" she asked, currently dressed in a simple nightgown and a pair of pink fluffy slippers, indicating that she was heading off to bed.

Ash smiled at his mother, "Yeah everything's fine Mom, just watching this battle." he said, nodding towards the TV.

His mother smiled and shook her head, _'Same old Ash.'_ she thought fondly.

"Don't you think you should be getting to bed? You've got a big day tomorrow." she suggested.

With a smile still on his face, "I will, I'm just thinking about a few things." Ash replied.

"Anything in particular?" Delia asked as she sat down next to her son on his bed.

"Not much, mostly wondering about what my journey's going to be like." Ash replied as he turned to gaze out of his bedroom window.

"Don't worry honey, I know it's going to be great." his mother said reassuringly, with a bright smile as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

There were a few moments of silence until Ash's face suddenly turned serious as he looked down towards the floor, "You know I don't have to go. If you need me t-"

"Don't you even suggest it young man." Delia cut off her son in a stern tone, "We've had this talk practically a million times. You are going on your own pokémon journey and that is final. Even if I have to get Samuel to have a herd of Tauros chase you out of this place, **you are going**. Do you understand me?" she said in a tone that left no room for argument as she made Ash face her.

With a sigh, "Yes Mom." Ash said defeated, but with an amused grin twitching at the corner of his lips.

"Good." Delia nodded and smiled at her son, "Now, after you've watched the rest of the battle, do yourself a favour and get some sleep." she said in her 'sterner' tone as she kissed Ash on the forehead, ruffled his hair and left his room.

Chuckling to himself and shaking his head, Ash turned back to the T.V just in time to see that the female trainer, Sarah, had won the match. Not bothered that he had missed the rest of the battle, Ash switched the T.V off and climbed into bed, the last thoughts on his mind were the many scenarios about what his own pokémon journey might entail, before he fell asleep.

* * *

_"Beep ... Beep ... Beep ..."_

Ash was awoken the following morning via the ringing of his alarm clock. He rolled over in his bed and sleepily smacked the top of it to shut it off. Letting out a long yawn, he looked at the alarm clock that read _'4.25 a.m.'_ in green digital light.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly and swung his legs out from underneath the covers and over the bed. Letting out another yawn and stretching his arms above his head, Ash jumped out of bed and made his way into the en-suite bathroom attached to his room.

Quickly doing his morning business, Ash splashed some cold water on his face to wake himself up a bit more before drying himself down. He exited the bathroom and made his way over to the wardrobe in his room, where he donned a pair of black jogging pants, a white muscle t-shirt and a pair of white running trainers.

Once dressed in his workout clothing, Ash jogged down the stairs and out the front door, the morning air was cool and refreshing as it washed over him. Locking the door behind himself, Ash began working through his morning routine of stretches to limber his body up, once finished with his stretches, he hit a button on his watch to start a timer and instantly took off into a sprint towards the fields to begin his daily morning workout.

An hour or so into his morning run, Ash found his thoughts drifting back to the various ways that he had been preparing for his pokémon journey over the past few years.

Ash's love of Pokémon had started ever since he was a small child, where he would spend countless hours listening to his mother and father tell him various stories about their own pokémon journeys.

At the thought of his father, Ash's body tensed up as he stopped midway during his run. His body completely un-moving as he clenched his fists and bowed his head in remembrance of his late father.

It was his father who had gotten him interested into pokémon in the first place, it was his father who Ash had admired more than anyone on the planet. He'd always been very close to both of his parent's, but Ash had always felt that he and his father had shared a stronger bond with one another.

Ash remembered back to the time when his father had told him that he was going to become a Pokémon Master and was planning to leave on his next journey to do so. It was at the same time that Ash had vowed that he too would become a Pokémon Master someday. To follow in his father's footsteps and show the world that a no name kid from Pallet Town could become great.

However, before Ash's father was able to leave on his journey, he passed away when Ash had not long turned eight years old due to cancer.

Ash had felt crushed and extremely angry when his father passed away, so much so that he had at one point completely lost sight of his dream. Crushed at the fact that his father, best friend and mentor had passed on, leaving him with a gaping hole of loneliness in his heart, and angry towards the fate's of the world for taking one of the most important people in his life away from him.

After months and many long talks with his mother, Ash had learned to deal with the pain and move forward. He realised that his father wouldn't want him to spend the rest of his life miserable and mourning him, instead living every day to its fullest.

Ash came out of his thoughts and found that his hand had subconsciously come to grip something underneath his t-shirt as he reminisced about his father. Pulling on the thin gold chain, Ash revealed a small gold amulet from underneath his t-shirt.

The object in question had been a special gift from his father, when he was around six or seven years old. He had been told that it had been in his family for generations and to this day Ash hadn't removed it from his person. The amulet was in the shape of a small gold circle with a symbol in the middle. The symbol, was in the shape of a light blue orb with a curved feather/flame shape above it. There was also an inscription on the back that was in another form of language. His father had said, _"You will learn what it means, when the time is right."_

Ash smiled as he looked at his 'lucky charm' and returned it back underneath his t-shirt. Continuing back on his run, Ash refocused his thoughts back to when he began to get his life on track and prepare himself for his journey.

He remembered back to when he was about four years old and how he would boast about becoming the world's most powerful Pokémon Master. Ash still laughed at himself to this day. Boasting about becoming the best was one thing, actually putting in the time and effort to achieve it was a whole different kettle of Magikarp as he'd learnt over the years.

Since realising this, Ash had been training both his body and mind to prepare himself for his journey towards his ultimate goal.

To train his body, this particular morning exercise regime had become mandatory for him over the past few years. Almost every morning Ash would wake up at what his mother and many people around Pallet Town referred to as an 'unholy' hour in the morning and work his body through various exercises. Sometimes he would push himself to the brink of his physical boundaries, especially the mornings when he woke up energetic and determined to do so. After Ash had covered a good few miles during his morning run, he would detour off to the park to begin the next part of his routine which consisted of an hour of push ups, sit ups, pull ups as well as using some disused concrete blocks for various other weight exercises.

Ash had also been learning various martial arts styles and meditation exercises from sparring against the number of fighting-type pokémon at Professor Oaks Ranch over the years as well. The reason for this was that he had heard from his parents and Professor Oak about pokémon poachers and criminal organisations that were dangerous and tried to steal other people's pokémon. Ash knew that he would need to know how to not only defend himself, but also his pokémon should anything happen.

As well as getting his body into shape and ready for his journey, Ash had also been doing the same with his mind and knowledge of pokémon. While at home, Ash was constantly ciphering through books upon books about pokémon thanks to the libraries worth left by his father, or he was found watching pokémon battle's on the T.V. He'd also spend a great deal of time at Professor Oak's lab whenever he was able to, learning all he could from the very knowledgeable professor about pokémon.

Professor Oak had even taught Ash about pokémon battling through firsthand experience, by having mock battle's against one another, during which Professor Oak would tutor Ash about battle techniques, strategies and much more. After a few months of regular practice and tuition, Ash was able to comfortably beat the experienced, albeit retired pokémon trainer, even when Ash had both a type and power disadvantage, much to the Professor's delight and shock.

All in all Ash was more than ready for his own pokémon journey. Unlike what other beginner trainers believed, Ash knew that during the road to becoming a pokémon trainer, success wouldn't be handed to you on a silver platter. It would take hours of practice, training, sweat, blood and possibly a few tears to achieve the goals and dreams you desired.

* * *

Ash returned back near his home a few hours later after he had finished his morning workout, his body was caked in sweat, so much so that his white t-shirt had turned completely see through and his damp hair was sticking to his forehead. His breathing had calmed slightly, however, his muscles were aching all over.

He arrived back home, first making his way to the kitchen where he grabbed a cool bottle of water from the fridge, taking less than a minute or so to down the cold drink, then back to his room where he stripped out of his sweaty clothes and jumped into the shower. Soon after he'd finished cleaning himself and soaking the aches and pains out of his muscles, he began to dry himself off. It was as he was doing this that he caught sight of his figure in the slightly fogged up mirror.

Over the years since he'd begun his physical exercising, Ash started to take pride in his health and his body. He wasn't as 'crazy' as those body building nut jobs he'd seen on the T.V who looked like they were trying to turn themselves into a Machoke, he simply looked after himself. Unlike most boys his age who were either just skinny or fat, every inch of Ash's form possessed hard, ripped muscle. Ever since he'd started going through puberty, his muscle's had become much more defined which gave his figure it's lean and sleek look.

After Ash had finished drying himself off, he spent the next half an hour sat down on his floor, legs crossed with his eyes closed and slow, controlled breathing. Meditation had helped Ash a great deal over the years, not only did it help him to clear his thoughts, but it was also an effective way of keeping him calm. When he was younger, particularly when his father passed away, he used to let his anger get the best of him. Surprisingly, it was the fighting-type pokémon he'd sparred with at Professor Oak's Ranch who had showed him how letting anger and rage control him wasn't going to help him in life. This point had sunken into Ash when he had let his anger control him during sparring sessions against the other pokémon, which had led to him getting the absolute crap kicked out of him. After months of talking with his mother, Professor Oak and getting beaten into the ground, Ash was able to truly move past his anger.

A short while later, Ash was heading back down into the kitchen dressed in a pair of black cargo pants with his official pokémon trainer's, pokéball belt held around his waist. A plain black t-shirt with a red and black chequered long sleeved hoody over the top. Finished with a pair of dark brown combat boots that were loosely tied allowing him to tuck the cuffs of his cargo pants into them. He was also wearing a pair of black and white fingerless gloves, a sleek black watch on his right wrist and a red and white baseball cap, that was red at the back and white at the front, with a small green circle symbol in the front left-hand corner of it.

Ash arrived downstairs in the kitchen, the smell of bacon and coffee filled his nostrils as he entered the spacious room.

His mother was standing at the stove humming to herself as she finished working on breakfast, dressed in a form fitting pink blouse and a simple pair of blue jeans. And at the table was his five year old baby sister, Rosie, sitting in her chair whilst playing with a stuffed pokédoll, wearing a yellow summer dress. Rosie looked very much like their mother, with her light hazel coloured eyes and long brunette hair. Ash took after both his mother and father in appearance, combining the best features of both.

Delia turned from the stove and smiled at Ash, "Morning honey, all ready for your big day?" Ash nodded, "Yeah, double checked that everything's packed." he replied as he held up his large duffel bag.

"ASHYY!" the bright little girl squealed, hearing that her big brother was in the room.

Ash grinned at his baby sister, "Morning Rosie." he said as he set his duffel bag down and kissed his baby sister on the cheek, causing her to giggle.

Delia set three plates of food on the table, pouring Ash and Rosie some orange juice and herself some coffee. Ash ruffled his baby sister's hair and took a seat next to her.

"Have you decided on which starter you're going to choose?" Delia asked Ash as he dug into his breakfast.

Ash looked thoughtful for a few moments as he pondered his mother's question. In truth he really wasn't fussed about which starter he got, he'd worked and battled with many different pokémon over the years at Professor Oaks lab and worked well with all of them as a team.

"Not yet, I'm not fussed which one I get really. Whichever pokémon I choose, I know we'll work and train hard together as a team until were the strongest we can be." Ash answered.

Delia smiled brightly at her son and the sheer determination in his voice, _'just like his father'_. It was one of the small things that she knew were going to make her Ash a legend as a pokémon trainer in the near future.

"Make sure you get the cutest pokéy Ashy." little Rosie chirped in as she ate her bacon in a very un-lady like way.

Ash chuckled at his baby sister, Rosie had a habit of referring to Pokémon as 'Pokéy', even though she could pronounce the former. It was one of the many things that Ash loved about his adorable baby sister.

Delia smiled warmly at the familiar interaction between her two children during breakfast. As she finished her morning coffee, she glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 8.30 in the morning.

"We'd better get to Samuel's lab, it's nearly 8.30 already." Delia said.

Ash nodded and set his and Rosie's dishes off to the side.

"Can I have a piggyback?" Rosie asked her big brother, with big puppy dog eyes and her bottom lip quivering.

_'Damn those puppy eyes and that pout.'_ thought Ash, he was always a sucker for his baby sister's puppy dog look and she knew it.

Ash lifted his baby sister up and onto his shoulders, while Delia grabbed his duffel bag.

"YAY HORSEY!" the little girl squealed.

Ash jogged out the front door with his baby sister giggling on his shoulders and his mother laughing at their antics as they began making their way through Pallet Town towards Professor Oaks lab.

* * *

After a short while Ash, Delia and Rosie arrived at Professor Oak's lab, which had a large chattering crowd gathered outside the front entrance.

Ash lifted Rosie from his shoulders and placed her back down on the floor, despite her protests and pouting.

"Go on ahead honey, we'll be out here when you're done." Delia said.

Ash nodded, leaning down he kissed Rosie on the cheek and ruffled her hair and gave his mum a quick hug, before he began to skilfully weave his way through the gathered crowd. Making his way to the front of the crowd, Ash saw Professor Oak standing in the front entrance to his lab with a boy standing on his right.

The boy was of average height for a thirteen year old, had spiky brown hair, blue eyes and was wearing a purple jumper with dark blue jeans, black trainers along with a 'ying n yang' necklace.

The boy's name was Gary Oak, Professor Oak's grandson and self proclaimed Pokémon Master. During their earlier childhood years, Ash and Gary had actually been fairly close friends. The proof of this was the half of a pokéball that each of them possessed which they had found and then broken when they were younger.

However, as they got older, Gary gained an extremely arrogant attitude and began to try and tease and torment Ash whenever they were in each other's presence. Gary seemed to believe that he was able to get under Ash's skin and that he and Ash had developed some form of heated rivalry with one another. In truth, Ash simply found Gary to become nothing more than an annoying pest, he quickly realised that Gary's sudden sheer arrogant and cocky attitude would sooner or later be his own downfall during his journey to become a pokémon trainer. It was a shame as well, seeing as Ash knew that Gary was a very smart kid and if he'd just lose the obnoxious attitude then perhaps Ash could consider Gary a proper rival. However, Gary's attitude meant that he believed he would automatically become extremely successful on his pokémon journey, and even refused the offered extra tuition with his grandfather, instead proclaiming that Ash would need all the help he could get if he hoped to be anyway near Gary's 'level'.

Ash stalked his way towards the entrance with a blank mask on his face, ignoring the crowds whispering and the numerous giggling girls at the sight of him.

"Ah Ash my boy, good to see you made it." greeted Professor Oak as he smiled widely at Ash. The Professor was a tallish man with faded brown hair and dressed in his usual Lab gear which consisted of a red shirt, tan coloured pants, brown shoes and a long white lab coat.

Ash returned the smile and shook the Professor's hand, "Good to see you to Professor."

"Now if both of you will follow me, we can begin." the old professor said as he turned around and made his way into his laboratory.

"Nice to see you made it out of bed, Ashy boy." Gary taunted, wearing the familiar 'I'm better than you.' sneer on his face.

Ash didn't even spare a glance at Gary, instead following Professor Oak into his lab, with an annoyed Gary on his tail due to the lack of response from Ash.

As Ash and Gary followed Professor Oak, the old professor snuck a glance between the two boys, particularly Ash.

The young man intrigued him greatly. He remembered back to when Ash was but a mere child and the boy had come to him and asked if he could personally teach him anything he could about pokémon. When asked why, the boy's answer was so simple, _"So that I know what I'm doing when I start my own journey."_

Hearing the determination in the boys voice and the look in his eyes, Samuel had agreed to teach Ash as much as he could about pokémon as well as pokémon battling, via the boys request. After a few weeks he had seen how well Ash was doing and had offered the extra tuition to his grandson, Gary, so that he too would be better prepared for his own journey. Unfortunately it seemed that his grandson's arrogance was much bigger than Samuel had initially thought, as Gary repeatedly proclaimed that he didn't need any extra tuition and that Ash should get as much as he could in order to be anywhere near his supposed level.

What his grandson didn't take into account was the fact that Ash was a prodigy when it came to pokémon. Oak would be the first to admit that he wasn't a slouch when it came to pokémon battling, he had years of experience in the field and was proclaimed a very strong opponent indeed. When he first began to tutor Ash, the boy was a complete amateur and it showed clear as day.

However, rather than be disheartened like most people would, Ash learned from each and every one his mistakes in battle and each one of his losses. Within a few weeks Oak started to see how the boy would take his own battle tactics and then tweak, twist and bend them in order to improve upon them in the middle of a battle. The boy was that gifted that within a few months, Oak found himself facing loss after loss after loss against the young man.

Coupled with seeing how Ash interacted and bonded with pokémon and Oak knew that Ash was going to take the pokémon world by storm. The young man would easily become an extremely powerful trainer in no time at all, one that the Elite four and regional Champions would be wary of. The old professor wouldn't be that surprised if Ash went on and won the Indigo League during his first year as a trainer.

Although, Samuel also knew of the hidden pain in the young man's eyes. When his father passed away, it hurt Ash severely, probably even more than it did Delia. Ash's father was the boy's hero, the one person Ash had idolised above anyone.

It took months for the boy to the deal with the pain and come to terms with it, Samuel still cringed to this day when he remembered seeing the completely dead and defeated look in the young boy's eyes.

Once Ash had accepted the fact that his father had passed on, he practically grew up overnight, becoming adamant to accomplish his lifelong dream in the memory of his father and to take care of his family.

Professor Oak shuddered at the mere thought of someone trying to harm Delia or heavens forbid little Rosie. Not even Arceus's blessing would stop be able to stop Ash's wrath. A few weeks ago an advancing male had learned this the hard way when they had tried to 'cop a feel' with Ash's mother in front of the young man's eyes.

Coming out of his thoughts, Samuel quickly recalled a pokémon that he had recently acquired who shared the familiar look of pain and anger. An idea came to his mind.

Professor Oak led Ash and Gary into a room that held numerous computers and other machine equipment. In the middle of the room were three pokéball's sitting in a machine like incubator, the glass cover retracted and raised the three pokéball's to the occupants of the room, as Professor Oak went over to his computer at the other side of the lab.

Ash took a quick look at them and noticed that each had a symbol on top. One with the symbol of fire, Charmander, another with the symbol of water, Squirtle, and the last with the symbol of grass, Bulbasaur.

Strangely enough, Ash noted that he felt drawn towards the pokéball that he knew contained Charmander, along with another pokéball somewhere else in the room. He'd been having these 'feelings' for years and remembered when his father had told him that it was something to do with his heritage, so far every time he went with it, he hadn't been wrong yet.

Ash was brought out of his musings by Professor Oak, who had moved behind the three pokéball's to address him and Gary.

"I just received an e-mail from Mrs Green. It seems that her daughter won't be able to make it today as she isn't feeling too well, so it's just you two today. You have three Pokémon to choose from, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle." he informed, gesturing to each one of the pokéball's respectively.

"I already know who I'm going to pick!" Gary spoke up as he strode forward with the same arrogant sneer on his face.

"I guess its ladies first then." Ash idly gestured.

Gary stopped and rounded on Ash, red in the face. Ash opted to gaze out the nearby lab window, a smirk twitching at his lips whilst Professor Oak coughed to cover up his own laugh.

Professor Oak cleared his throat, "So...which pokémon were you going to pick Gary?"

Gary turned away from Ash and sniffed, he then reached out and picked up the pokéball with the water symbol on it.

_'Guy's only been bragging about getting a Squirtle for the last five years, what a surprise!'_ Ash thought.

"Go Squirtle!" Gary called as he threw the pokéball in the air.

A small blue bipedal turtle-like creature appeared out of the pokéball, it had a light brown shell, a round head with big eyes and a curly blue tail.

"Squirtle!" the small Squirtle cried out before it looked around the room, quickly feeling slightly intimidated.

Gary bent down onto one knee and smiled at his new pokémon.

"Hey Squirtle, I'm Gary your new trainer."

Squirtle tilted his head to the side and blinked, after a moment it smiled and gave a big nod.

Gary returned Squirtle to his pokéball as Professor Oak handed Gary a Pokédex, five empty pokéballs and explained the basics to him.

"Thanks Gramps." Gary said and turned to Ash with a smirk on his face, "Smell ya later Ashy boy!" he mocked and walked off laughing.

Ash simply quirked an eyebrow as Professor Oak sighed and shook his head.

"Now Ash, which pokémon would you like to choose?" Professor Oak asked.

Without a moment's hesitation, Ash walked over and picked up the ball that he knew contained Charmander. With a swift flick of his wrist, Ash threw the ball into the air.

A small bipedal lizard looking pokémon, with dark orange skin, a cream coloured underbelly and a long tail that had a flame burning on the end of it appeared out of the pokéball.

"Char, Charmander!" the excited looking Charmander exclaimed staring at Ash.

Ash got down onto one knee and grinned as he held his hand out to Charmander.

"Hey there Charmander, my name's Ash and I was wondering if you want to come with me on my journey to become a pokémon trainer."

"Char, Char!" the small lizard exclaimed happily and hugged Ash's leg.

Ash chuckled and patted Charmander on the head. Professor Oak smiled at Ash bonding with his new pokémon whilst also being mentally relieved. He'd been unsure of using Charmander as one of the starting pokémon for the trainer's considering the fire-type's past experience. He suspected that Charmander had taken so kindly to Ash because it had seen the young man around the Ranch so much and the way he interacted with pokémon.

Ash stood back up and turned to the Professor, "I choose Charmander Professor."

"Excellent, now I shall just register Charmander as your pokémon." Professor Oak said as he moved over to his computer.

Ash looked down to Charmander and grinned, "Welcome to the family Charmander."

"Char, Char!" Charmander cheered as he jumped up and down.

Ash turned back to Professor Oak who watched the scene in amusement, "Seems you have a very happy pokémon there Ash. Now before we move on there is another pokémon I would like you to meet." the Professor said as he went to the far end of the room to retrieve a pokéball.

Ash quirked an eyebrow, _'Another pokémon?'_ "But Professor I thought I'm only allowed one starter?" Ash asked.

"Technically you are and you have. Charmander is your starting pokémon." Professor Oak started as he retrieved the pokéball and made his way back over to Ash.

"This pokémon is one that I have recently acquired and was having some trouble with. I feel that it would be best for it to go along with a trainer, rather than being cooped up here at the lab. After witnessing your experience and bonding with pokémon over the years Ash, I know that it would be best going with you." the old professor finished as he handed Ash the pokéball.

Ash looked down at the pokéball and felt the familiar tug he had with Charmander's. _'This must be the other one.'_ he thought. He noted that this pokéball had a lightning bolt symbol on it. _'An Electric-type.'_

He looked down to see Charmander staring intently at the pokéball. Shrugging, he flicked his wrist and tossed the pokéball into the air. Ash, Professor Oak and Charmander watched in fascination as the pokémon took the shape to reveal what looked like a yellow mouse.

It stood a little shorter than Charmander with a lightning bolt shaped tail nearly as long as it stood. It had long pointy yellow ears with black tips, small red cheeks and two brown stripe's on its back. Ash watched as the pokémon blinked and said, "Pikachu."

Professor Oak and Charmander blinked as Ash watched Pikachu intently. It seemed that Pikachu had become aware of itself as it growled, it didn't seem happy that it had been captured.

Oak backed away cautiously as Charmander stood his ground, Ash noticed and smiled at the fact that Charmander was ready to protect him if need be.

Looking back at Pikachu, it was clear as day that the little guy was very angry. Ash slowly began to approach it showing that his hands were empty. When close enough he knelt down on one knee in front of it, very careful not to make any sudden movements.

Pikachu watched Ash closely, the moment the human did anything threatening he was going to zap him!

Ash stared directly into Pikachu's eyes. He could feel something very strong inside him reach out to this pokémon, stronger than it had been with Charmander.

Pikachu continued to watch the strange human closely, he was surprised that he had approached him so fearlessly, however just by looking at the human he could tell that this human was very strong. Pikachu also felt drawn to this human, like this human would never do anything to harm him.

Very carefully, Ash began to reach his hand out to Pikachu who watched it closely, when he was within reaching distance Ash grinned and said, "Hi my name's Ash, nice to meet you Pikachu."

Pikachu blinked and looked at Ash in shock. He couldn't help but walk up to Ash and shake his outstretched hand and say hello. "Pika, Pikachu." What else was he supposed to do with such a polite and friendly greeting, shock him?

Ash's grin widened as he took to sitting cross legged in front of Pikachu, who was now watching Ash with further curiosity. Charmander had approached Ash's side and smiled towards Pikachu whilst Professor Oak was sitting back and watching the whole scene in fascination and a huge smile. _'I knew Ash was the perfect trainer for this.'_ the old professor thought to himself.

"My full name is Ash Ketchum, and today I'm here to choose my first pokémon. This here is Charmander." Ash said gesturing to the orange lizard to his side.

Pikachu turned to look at Charmander and raised its ears, "Pika?".

"Char, Char!" Charmander responded to Pikachu.

Ash smiled at the interaction between the two, "I've already chosen Charmander as my first pokémon, but I've been told that you don't like it here at this lab, so I was wondering if you wanted to come with us?" Ash asked Pikachu quite earnestly.

Pikachu turned back to Ash, cocked his head to the side and pointed at himself, "Pika Pi?"

Ash nodded, "That's right, you see I have this dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, and to do that I need to have the best pokémon to join my family and stand by my side, and I want you to join and become part of that family Pikachu." Ash explained.

Pikachu didn't look entirely sure, he could sense that this human was special, kind hearted and very strong. Pikachu turned to Charmander and saw that he looked very happy that this human had chosen him.

"You won't regret it Pikachu, I promise." Ash said as he once again held out his hand.

Pikachu turned back to Ash and took a good long look at him. After a few moments he nodded with a large smile of his own and shook Ash's hand.

Ash's smile got bigger and he jumped back up to his feet, "Pikachu's coming with us Professor."

The Professor let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding as he clasped his hands together in excitement, "Ha ha I knew you were the trainer for him Ash, seeing as you seem to have things in hand I will register Pikachu and add him as your pokémon."

Charmander jumped into the air and cheered as Ash squatted down again in front of Pikachu, "Welcome to the family Pikachu."

Pikachu blushed through his yellow fur. Ash slowly reached out and began to pet Pikachu, giving him a scratch behind the ears which Pikachu seemed to enjoy as he leaned into Ash's touch.

Ash lifted Pikachu and placed him on his shoulder, noting that he didn't flinch but instead licked Ash on the cheek.

Ash turned around and petted Charmander as well before lifting up his pokéball, "I'll let you out once we get onto Route 1 okay Charmander?"

Charmander nodded, touching his pokéball and being sucked inside.

"Another set of excellent matches!" Professor Oak declared as he watched the scene between Ash and his new pokémon. He walked over to Ash and his face turned more serious, "Here is your Pokédex, some pokéballs, and of course Pikachu's pokéball. I should tell you that your Pokédex is an updated version, allowing you to scan pokémon that aren't found within the Kanto region and it also has a few extra features that I'm sure you'll find very helpful." Professor Oak explained.

"Thanks Professor." Ash said as he clipped the pokéballs to his belt and slipped his new red and black Pokédex into his pants pocket. He felt Pikachu tense on his shoulder and noticed how the small electric mouse was glaring at the pokéball in his hand with serious distaste.

"I take it you don't like pokéballs Pikachu?" he asked to which Pikachu answered, "PIKA!" and a vigorous shake of his head.

"Then you'll just have to do without one." Ash replied, receiving a cheer and lick on the cheek from Pikachu, Ash chuckled and put the pokéball on his belt.

Turning back to the smiling Professor, Ash asked, "Was that everything Professor?"

Professor Oak nodded, "Yes that was everything Ash, I believe it is now time for you, Charmander and Pikachu to begin your journey. Know that if you ever need anything, all you have to do is call." Oak said.

"Will do Professor and thank you... for everything." Ash replied sincerely.

Oak waved him off, "It has been my pleasure Ash, I know that you will achieve great things along your journey. Now, be sure to look after each other alright, and collect as much data for the Pokédex as you can."

Grinning, Ash shook the Professor's hand and left the laboratory.

As he was heading down the steps from the front entrance of the lab, Ash turned to Pikachu on his shoulder, "I should warn you that when my little sister see's you, she's going to hug you to death." he warned with a smirk twitching at the corner of his lips.

It seemed that Pikachu understood what Ash was saying as a look of horror came over his face causing Ash to snort.

Ash arrived back at the gathered now cheering crowd, he turned to the side and saw that Gary was giving off some speech about becoming the world's most powerful Pokémon Master and blah, blah, blah.

Ash turned to Pikachu and noticed that he was slightly scared of the crowd and was clutching to his shoulder tightly. Ash gave him a reassuring smile and a nod which Pikachu saw and brightened up slightly. He turned back to the crowd and noticed his family just as his mother took notice of him.

"Hey honey, ooh what pokémon do you have there?" Delia greeted as Ash approached them.

Rosie who was clinging to her mother's leg, looked up at the sound of her voice. She saw Ash standing there, but it was the small yellow mouse sitting on his shoulder that caught her attention.

"IT'S SOOOO CUTE!" she squealed.

Pikachu flinched at the high pitch tone, Ash grinned at Pikachu's reaction as he'd already gotten use to his sister's high pitched tone over the years.

"Mum I'd like you to meet Pikachu, Pikachu this is my Mum."

Pikachu smiled at the nice looking lady and extended his hand, "Pika, Pikachu!"

"Ohh aren't you adorable." Delia said as she extended her hand to shake Pikachu's small one and gave him a little scratch behind the ear.

Ash then got down onto one knee in front of Rosie, who had a gleam in her eyes looking at Pikachu and Ash could tell she was restraining herself from tackling the yellow mouse and squeezing the life out of him.

"And this is my little sister Rosie, Rosie this is Pikachu." Ash said and watched as Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and walked up to Rosie.

"Pika, Pi, Pikachu!" the yellow mouse said and smiled at the little girl.

That was all Rosie needed as she tackled Pikachu and clung on to him for dear life. Ash cringed and felt some sympathy for the little guy, however also had to stop himself from laughing at Pikachu's pleading look.

Ash stood back up and looked to his mother, "I also got a Charmander." he said as he lifted Charmander's pokéball from his belt.

"Why did you get two pokémon?" Delia asked curiously.

"I chose Charmander as my starter pokémon. But Professor Oak said that he was having some trouble with Pikachu and that it wouldn't be good for the little guy to be cooped up at the lab, and he recommend that Pikachu travel with me. After talking to Pikachu, he agreed to come." Ash explained as he looked back down to Pikachu and smiled to see that Rosie had relented on her 'hug of death', and was now scratching Pikachu behind the ear and giggling at his various pleased noises.

"Well I guess we better get going."

The little brunette girls happy and giggling demeanour instantly vanished as she now looked like she was going to burst into tears. Ash knelt down onto one knee and pulled his baby sister into a fierce hug as she flung her small arms tightly around his neck and began to cry into his shoulder.

It was taking a great deal of Ash's willpower not to shed a tear himself. Ever since little Rosie had been born she had clung to him like glue from the very first time he had held her. When their father had passed away, Ash took up the role of both big brother and father to little Rosie.

Ash pulled back from the hug and held his baby sister's tear stained face in both of his hands, "Be a good girl for Mum while I'm gone Rosie, and I'll get the cutest pokéy I can find and send it back for you to play with okay?" Ash said warmly as he brushed some falling tears away with his thumbs.

Rosie nodded her head, the tears continuing to fall down her adorable little face.

Ash smiled warmly at his baby sister, "I'll see you again before you know it."

"P-p-promise?" the little girl pleaded through her sobs.

In response, Ash removed one of his hands from her face and held up his little finger, Rosie instantly wrapped her much smaller one around it signifying the 'pinkie swear'.

"I promise." he vowed and placed several kisses on her cheeks.

Ash stood back up and turned towards his mum who was also starting to shed tears and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so proud of you honey. I can't believe that you're going on your own pokémon journey. Your father would be so proud of you."

Ash chuckled weakly, it was the best he could do without tearing up himself.

Pulling out of the hug, Delia reached into her pants pocket and pulled out an envelope. Handing it to Ash, he quickly realised that it was a bank statement. Upon seeing the amount once he opened it, his eyes widened and looked at his mother.

"W-Wha... h-how?" he stuttered out.

Delia tearfully laughed, "When you were born, your father and I opened up a trust fund for you."

Ash looked back down to the bank statement and couldn't help but smile. _'Dads still looking out for me.'_ he thought and lightly chuckled.

Pocketing the card that came with the bank statement into his wallet, Ash hugged his mum again, "I will make you proud."

"I know you will sweetie, please be careful." Delia said as she gave her son once last tight squeeze.

Ash pulled out of the hug and picked up his duffel bag and held out his arm to Pikachu who watched the tearful goodbye with a smile, obviously understanding how important Ash's family was to him.

"Ready to get going then Pikachu?"

"Pika, Pi!" the small yellow mouse nodded and climbed back up onto Ash's shoulder.

"I'll call you as soon as I get to Viridian City, love you!" Ash called as he turned and started to walk down the path leading out of Pallet Town.

Delia tearfully waved as she watched her son head off to begin his own pokémon journey. She looked up into the sky and sent a silent prayer to her late husband, asking him to watch over their son.

She looked back down to her baby girl and felt the pang in her heart stretch further at the devastated look on her little face. Delia knew that Ash leaving on his journey would hurt Rosie a lot. With her husband passing away when he did, Rosie had never really known her real father, so she had taken to thinking of Ash as such as well as her big brother. Her son knew this too as he had offered many times to forget becoming a pokémon trainer and stay with them in Pallet Town instead, of course Delia and even Rosie would never deprive Ash of fulfilling his dream.

* * *

Unbeknownst to anyone on the planet. In another dimension, separate and secretive to the entire pokémon world. A being that has been referred to by many as the 'God of Pokémon' was looking down upon our newly starting pokémon trainer.

_"And so his journey begins. You shall become the greatest of them all... Chosen One."_

* * *

**_AN:_ So their you go. The prologue - (which was one of the longest prologues I think I've seen to date.) - to my new project. To any readers who have been following my Harry Potter story, 'The Rise of Harry Potter.' that has been put on temporary hold. At the moment I have lost my muse for it and this will now have my undivided attention. I haven't abandoned it, never fear, it's just that my muse to write Harry Potter is zilch at the moment.**

**I can't really give any clue's as to updates. My life is currently being taken up by Job-Hunting, University Hunting, staying in shape and then Writing. The best estimate I can give is an update every week or so. (Although I must have read this through at least 50 times trying to pick out any little mistake and editing any tiny detail I wasn't happy with. LOL)  
**

******Please review, follow and favourite. Flames will be ignored. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Author Notice

_**Author Notice:**_

Hello everybody! I've been very busy lately as real life tends to get in the way when we least expect it and I've also been experiencing some technical problems with my hard drive. (What a pain in the arse that has been!)

I would like to apologise to any of the readers who have been waiting for updates to either one of my stories. I know it's been awhile and I sincerely apologize for that.

The reason why I have posted this author note is because I would like to ask that any of you who are currently following my stories, or to anyone who is possibly interested in my stories, if you could take a few minutes out of your time and go to my profile page and read over the update there as to why I've not been updating anything for the past few months.

After reading through the update there I would also ask you guys to vote on the new poll that is up on my account. The poll will determine which of the possible story ideas I've had swimming in my head that I will immediately start to write!


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